excuse my ignorance but what are pros and cons of diesel over regular gasoline?

Way better gas mileage, this 2 liter four cylinder diesel which makes 184 horsepower and 280 lb/ft of torque is already being sold in the European market 320d and is rated for a combined fuel consumption of 62.8MPG. Since a British gallon is 1.2 US gallons, converting it to US MPG would give you 52.3MPG.

Obviously our EPA tests are different and we'll see different numbers but a ~50MPG 3 series with a 0-60 of 8 seconds and a (hopefully) slightly lower MSRP than a 328i will be exactly what a lot of people have been waiting for.

Imagine being able to rival a Prius' gas mileage in a BMW 3 series and you'll see why Europeans think the Prius is such a joke.

Furthermore, the 4 cylinder Diesels have a REALLY crappy transmission and the shifting is just horrible in comparison to (let's say) 135i. They're worlds apart and you can literally tell that BMW put in cheap transmission parts into their 4 cylinder models to save money.

All in all: Diesel MT is a no-go. The 6cyl are either not available or no fun to drive and the 4cyl have a crappy transmission (they're not too much fun to drive either).

excuse my ignorance but what are pros and cons of diesel over regular gasoline?

Diesels offer a vastly different power delivery from gasoline where a lump of torque is available low in the rev band. So the power becomes much more accessible for everyday driving. Driving a standard with a small diesel is a blast as you learn to short shift and float on that torque. In fact, the redline on diesels is often quite low - 4-5K and rarely approached as there is little reason to go there.

I stand corrected. I was thinking that X5/X6 does have a V8 Diesel. Wishful thinking.
V8 diesel=torque monster.

BMW used to make a V8 diesel for the 7 Series if I'm not mistaken. They stopped making it because the 6 cylinders have gotten so good that their performance is on par, while fuel economy is better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Remonster

Way better gas mileage, this 2 liter four cylinder diesel which makes 184 horsepower and 280 lb/ft of torque is already being sold in the European market 320d and is rated for a combined fuel consumption of 62.8MPG. Since a British gallon is 1.2 US gallons, converting it to US MPG would give you 52.3MPG.

Obviously our EPA tests are different and we'll see different numbers but a ~50MPG 3 series with a 0-60 of 8 seconds and a (hopefully) slightly lower MSRP than a 328i will be exactly what a lot of people have been waiting for.

Imagine being able to rival a Prius' gas mileage in a BMW 3 series and you'll see why Europeans think the Prius is such a joke.

The problem is that we don't know if they are bringing the 4 pot or 6 cylinder... or both? If it's the 4 cylinder, then I'm going to assume that it's going to be priced equal to the 328i. I don't see the 4 cylinder diesel being the entry level car like they have it elsewhere in the world, but that's just my guess.

If they badge it a 328d, I'd actually expect it to cost slightly more than a 328i.

As good of news as this is, I wont believe until I see it. I hate to be skeptical, but BMWNA has be on again - off again about bringing diesels to our market. Until these models are actually on the showroom floor I wont waste any of my time.

If they do bring them, I would bet they would only with the 8 speed transmission. It would be a perfect match for an engine that creates a vary narrow power band.

Even my E46 320d is capable of up to the equivalent to 55 US MPG on a run, so I'm sure the latest generation of diesels should offer fantastic real world economy - no matter how the EPA test it.

Having said that, being a four cylinder diesel I agree that a Manual is more of a chore than a pleasure, basically you're just stirring the gearbox to keep it between 2000rpm and 3500rpm, the rest of the time it's pretty gutless - but since fuel over here equates to 9.5 $/gal, I can live with it being unresponsive if it achieves 2-3 times the economy I get from my even older E36 Coupe.

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3/15 to i8, and everything in between (yep, even including the F26 and F45)

excuse my ignorance but what are pros and cons of diesel over regular gasoline?

Take the U.S. 335d for example:

*425 lb-ft of Torque from a 3.0L inline 6
(The passing ability of this car is sick.)
*0-60mph: 5.3s http://www.roadandtrack.com/content/...-335d_data.pdf
*It will also return over 40mpg on the highway. (I have personally gone 600 miles from Alabama to Texas without refueling for 40.85mpg. Others on this forum have gone further for even better mpg)

I have owned both the 335i and d and much prefer the d for its excellent mix of power and fuel efficiency. Also with all that torque it's more fun to drive too. Diesel prices can exceed premium gasoline depending where you live. Right now it's priced with mid grade where I live which is nice. Some people prefer a high revving gasoline engine, so to each their own.